Always The Same
by Dolzinnig
Summary: Perhaps it was the mutual acceptance of each others' faults and the knowledge that both were far from perfect that drew them together so often like this. It was always the same. Always silent. RenxLyserg Drabble. One-Shot.


Mild RenxLyserg. Drabbley drabble.

* * *

Ren had never considered love a necessary thing. It was an alien term to him, full of what he considered empty promises, false hope and emotion. The idea that he could place that much trust in another person... It wasn't for him.

At its best it represented monotony. Who could ever be comfortable in the company of the same person hour after, day after day?

Horo-Horo would always remark that anybody insane enough to fall for him would have their work cut out for them anyway. Indeed, this was something that, deep down, the golden eyed shaman agreed with.

No matter how much he tried, how much he fought it, his anger always got the better of him in the end. It didn't matter what the circumstance, or how strong his better judgement was. Always with the caustic remarks. At the end of it all, he was still left with that lead-like feeling in his gut. Guilt. Regret. All of it. He wasn't even sure he was capable of feeling it til it would hit him in a wave.

Ren felt all of that suppressed within him as he lay sprawled on the couch, with Lyserg sitting across from him, perched far more politely on an armchair. He wasn't sure why he was drawn to the company of the emerald haired Brit, but it had become something of a ritual as of late.

Perhaps it was the mutual acceptance of each others' faults and the knowledge that both were far from perfect that drew them together so often like this. It was always the same. Always silent.

Lyserg would sit, more often than not devouring one of his dog-eared, not to mention well loved, detective novels. Ren would continue to recline, almost languidly, back on the couch, his expression betraying any sense of relaxation however. If it was possible, one might not have been surprised if the wall he kept his fierce stare fixed on the entire time, were as worn as any of his silent companion's books.

Hours would seem to fly by and still, neither would ever meet each others' gaze and only the sound of the turning of a page would break the absolute quiet. It was better that way.

At least, it had been.

Long after any of his anger had subsided, Ren would begin to move his eyes from the wall and find it glued to the boy across from him instead, swiftly looking away again if the said boy ever showed any sign of returning the stare. He couldn't be caught breaking the unspoken rules of the arrangement after all.

The Tao couldn't help it. Hours of staring at the wall had gradually been replaced with staring at the dowser. Hours of wondering.

Why did he love those books so much? He himself, was by no means ignorant of them, having attempted to read a Sherlock Holmes novel on more than one occasion, but where as Lyserg evidently found them mesmerising, Ren only ever found them tedious and predictable. Sure, there were the clever twists and turns, but it would all unwind into an inevitability in the end.

"Why do you idolise that fictional idiot so much?"

He'd blurted his annoyed thoughts out without thinking as usual that one afternoon and he expected them to be greeted in the usual manner. He hadn't wanted to bring any of that into this. Not between him and the Brit.

It was only met with a curious gaze, followed by a thoughtful answer.

"I suppose because he's reliable in solving the case. You can always count on him."

Lyserg admiring reliability? Somebody you could trust? Not so long ago the idea would have seemed alien to him, after having been a victim of the dowser's desertion in favour of the X-Laws.

Now Ren found himself relying on him on a daily basis and never once did the other refuse him. He hadn't wished to talk of his troubles, Lyserg had accepted that and instead would opt for his silent vigil across from him in the armchair. Hour after hour, day after day. Always the same. Maybe they had both been avoiding being caught breaking the rules. The _same_ old rules. Now when had Tao Ren ever accepted things like that?

"Like you."

He'd spoken without thinking again and for once, he didn't care.

A laugh followed by a smile.

"I'd normally think of that as an insult coming from you."

Funny how something so apparently predictable could suddenly seem so pleasant.

* * *

Yes, I am aware that Ren ends up with Jeanne in the manga and I also happen to like the pairing. But I also happen to like these two. They always seem to have their own kind of little (mostly disgruntled on Ren's part) understanding. Anyway, yeah~ Thank you for reading. Reviews are very welcome x


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